A study of the relationship between mouthwash use and oral and pharyngeal cancer.

As part of a larger case control study on a male veteran population at risk (drinking and smoking) for oral and pharyngeal cancer, 95 cases and 913 controls provided complete histories in a questionnaire that included data on mouthwash use. Analysis revealed no significant differences in the frequency of mouthwash users in cancer cases versus controls. In addition, no significant differences could be found between users and nonusers of mouthwash in relation to age or smoking and drinking habits. When a logistic regression analysis was performed to simultaneously remove the effects of age, or smoking and drinking habits, while controlling for all other factors, oral and pharyngeal cancer did not appear related to mouthwash use. In this study there is no evidence that mouthwash is a risk factor in the development of oral and pharyngeal cancer in males.